Captain Henrik Zetterberg was not part of the morning skate and will be a game-time decision, coach Jeff Blashill said. Drew Miller skated in Zetterberg’s place, holding the center spot between Anthony Mantha and Tomas Tatar. On other lines, Frans Nielsen was with Dylan Larkin and Riley Sheahan, and Luke Glendening with Tomas Jurco and Steve Ott. The defense pairings had Danny DeKeyser with Mike Green, Niklas Kronwall with Xavier Ouellet, and Brian Lashoff with Alexey Marchenko.

Defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (back spasms) skated today and aims to be available Thursday.

Goalie Jimmy Howard gets the start tonight.

The line tweaking reflects a team that has scored one goal the last two games. The third line was at its most effective earlier this season, when speedy Darren Helm was in the middle. Athanasiou, likewise, is an elite skater. He can create out of nowhere and, in Vanek, he has a high-end linemate who’ll drive the net and can finish chances.

Athanasiou mostly has played wing but favors being in the middle.

“It’s a position I like playing,” he said. “Once we get our line clicking and get a few shifts out of the way, we should be rolling along.

“(Vanek) is an unbelievable player. He has so much experience. He’s so good at reading the play and when to deliver the puck, when to hold it, when to shoot. He makes great decisions. It’ll be a lot of fun to play with him.”

Athanasiou has played around 14:24 in the two games since he returned from a sprained knee. His minutes might grow a little if the line displays chemistry.

“Anytime there is opportunity, you have to make the most of it,” Athanasiou said. “I know that I’m getting a chance here and I want to make the most of it.”

“Nyqie has been a really good rush player his whole career here,” Blashill said. “He’s scored lots of goals on the rush. So when you have a guy with Helmer’s speed or AA’s speed, it opens up opportunities on the rush.

“We need to get a little more offense. So we’re hoping can we tweak it just a little bit, continue to limit teams defensively, continue to not give much up like we’ve done, but find a little bit more offense.”